For being just compared to the flagship phablet of the Korean tech giant launched last month, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, in terms of design and performance, it is already an honor and distinction to the latest flagship smartphone of the Taiwanese tech company, the Asus ZenFone 2.
While the Asus ZenFone 2 has had many variants since it was officially launched by the Taiwanese in January this year and launched to the global retail markets thereafter, the fact remains that it has become one of the most cost-affordable smartphones that can actually rival other flagship devices of big name companies in terms of features and capabilities.
The Asus ZenFone 2 created a lot of buzz in the global smartphone industry when it was released because it had 4GB of RAM, which means it is powerful and fast enough to process data and whatever smartphone app that is thrown its way.
In fact, it is on that aspect that it is better than the newly-launched and shiny Samsung Galaxy Note 5, cites Neurogadget.
Some say that the phone looks exactly like another high-end flagship smartphone of 2014, the LG G3. Both smartphones are made of brushed metal, their volume buttons are located below the rear camera, and their front panels have a metal band below the screen.
But the Asus ZenFone 2 is rectangular and not like a floating arc like the LG G3, and it is also thicker with a thickness of 10.9 millimeters.
Another selfie phone
Meanwhile, another variant of the Asus ZenFone 2 was released in India on September 15, ideal for taking selfie shots.
The smartphone is called the Asus ZenFone Selfie, which became available in the Indian retail markets at a price of $272, which is pretty much the same price as the Asus ZenFone 2, details NDTV Gadgets.
While the first model that came out has a 32GB of internal storage, the Asus ZenFone Selfie has a 16GB built-in storage variant with a 2GB of RAM, which will be made available to the Indian retail markets at a price of $242 beginning on September 30. It comes in two different colors of aqua blue and pink.
The Asus ZenFone Selfie features a 13-megapixel rear-facing and front camera, which is actually the highlight of the device. It has an f/20 aperture, 28-mm focal length, and a dual-color Real Tone flash. The rear-facing camera also sports a laser autofocus module.
The smartphone is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor divided into a 1.7GHz quad-core and 1GH quad-core, with Adreno 405 GPU and 3GB of RAM.
Another variant of the ZenFone 2
Asus also took the recent IFA 2015 event in Berlin, Germany as yet another opportunity to launch its latest two major offerings – the ZenWatch 2 and the Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe.
Considering how prolific Asus is as a smartphone maker, it was no longer surprising to see the company show off its other smartphone offerings in addition to the Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe, which actually came with the same hardware as its base model, the Asus ZenFone 2, but with different exterior design.
The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe is being described by critics as the stylish version of the Asus ZenFone 2 ideal for those who want their handset to stand out and a better-looking variant of the base model.
The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe features a rear cover design that is accentuated by a multi-faceted rear cover and chameleon-like coating that tends to change the color hues of the phone as the user tilt it around.
With its 5.5-inch display screen size and 1080-pixel resolution covered by a Gorilla Glass 3, the Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe is very comfortable to hold and has the acceptable sharpness that users normally desire.
The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe also features the familiar ZenUI interface and comes out of the box with Android 5.0 Lollipop for its mobile operating system.